Bargain Beauty Secrets by Diane Irons

Beauty and industry
expert Diane Irons knows the secrets of top models and celebrities, and
they are not as expensive as you think! In fact, you can match these
insider tricks of the trade with just a quick trip to your grocery or
drug store. From professional makeup application to spa facials and
runway fashion, you'll learn how to get a top-notch look in the least
amount of time and with little or no money--and you'll feel great doing
it! Bargain Beauty Secrets is the perfect guide to an amazing look
and a boost of confidence, on your terms and within your budget. What
could be better?

This cute book (which is awkwardly designed not to fit right on
nearly every bookshelf, I HATE that!), holds within an amazing array of
useful knowledge, some common sense tidbits not overly helpful, other
things unique and unknown to me.

The first chapter is a
mere 3 pages with short tidbits on not believing everything you see and
not being tricked by the fashion industry into feeling inferior. The
short stroke of ego is a nice boost to begin the rest of the book, yet
nothing insightful or heavy. 'Cheap tricks' covers basic shortcuts in
the world of beauty, from preventing deodorant stains on clothes with
baking soda, red eyes, and cheap hair rinses. Again amazingly short and
choppy, this quick guide is almost like a one-page spread in a magazine.

Food
for beauty has several paragraphs using different foods for different
effect, such as easily combining poppy seeds with jojoba oil for
exfoliation and warming olive oil to prevent and treat split ends in the
hair. In Ageless secrets, there are some impressive tips on wrinkles,
from using preparation H (which we've all heard for the eyes) to a
unique twist on glittery foundation versus crows feet. These short tips
are followed by a few self-made concoctions to help ward off the effects
of aging. Weight loss bargains is a healthier chapter in length, with
some of the advice being common sense, while other advice is new and
useful to keep in mind to keep pounds at bay.

Personal
stuff focuses on those embarrassing dilemmas we hate to talk about, such
as white body bumps on the arms, back breakouts and vaginal itch. There
are some very useful tricks here, such as orange rinds for stretch
marks. Bargain fitness was a fun little chapter, showing some quick
everyday exercise routines to tighten and firm without spending money or
expending an overt amount of energy. The Do It Yourself chapter has
easy-peasy techniques on self-made dandruff treatments, simple lip
glosses, ending with paragraph segments focusing on having a realistic
self-image and following the 'prevention is the best medicine' train of
thought.

Skin savings warns against the use of sun ,
great facial exercises, more homemade masks, and other various skin
ailments. This was a top favorite for me, as some of the advice was
quite different. Making up for less was also one of the best sections, giving
advice on self tanning techniques, shopping, bronzers
and foundations, and makeup tricks. I did raise a question to myself on
self-plumping the lips without collagen by applying a bit of cinnamon
oil. It will plump the lips and give them slight color, but real
cinnamon E.O. is very strong. After reading on herbalism, I've learned
most essential oils should never be applied "neat' (that is, undiluted
without a carrier oil) She doesn't instruct on putting it on, leaving
the reader to assume to just apply it straight to the lips. I must
caution against this as repeated use of an strong essential oil
undiluted will eventually numb the area, irritate or burn it. Perhaps
for that special night out on the town in a thick oil base would be
alright.

Hair bargains follows, leaving the reader with
a healthy amount of short tips. While brief, many are useful. I'm sure
we've all heard of things like baking soda in the hair to remove excess
oil when we haven't had time to shower, and sadly the rest of the hair
tricks just aren't that revolutionary. It does end with some homemade
tonics that stand out as much more impressive, such as Rhubard
highlights and "Adult treatments" using alcohol.

Not
shying away from living up to its claim of covering it all, the next
chapter focuses on self-made treatments and advice regarding hands,
nails, and manicures. It likely won't surprise you that the next chapter
is on feet and pedicures then? Spa savings follows, being one of my
favorites for nifty advice not seem elsewhere. The blackhead remover was
one of my preferred, and one I've already tried. As follows:

Dissolve
one tablespoon of unflavored gelatin in two tablespoons of milk over
low heat. Let cool and apply to face. Leave on thirty minutes. As you
peel off the mask, you'll peel off the blackheads.

Now, I
did this but did it incorrectly... of course. Moron me did not dissolve
the gelatin right (perhaps mine is old), and I wasn't able to leave it
on for thirty minutes. Still it worked some doing it incorrectly, and I
can see it would really help if a person with common sense does it the
right way. :)

As I've mentioned already, this is a top
five chapter of the book, going into more detail and being more
beneficial. There are even oatmeal masks, which we've all seen, yet here
she shows three different oatmeal masks to match all three skin types.
This chapter, the longest, goes into everything from skin chafing and
sunburn, to hair and cellulite. I wonder why she didn't just blend some
of that into their respective chapters? Oh well, it was a delightful
surprise to find the subjects continued.

The Model
Savings was a fun chapter showing tricks certain models use, followed by
a brief chapter on the same for celebrities. It even includes the
beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer's beauty treatment recipe for her hair. How
delightful :) Finally the book rounds off with shopping bargains -
mainly to-not-do on clothes, drugstore versus discount stores, and
saving money. Cheap chic focuses on slimming techniques for plus size
women, Accessorizing for less discusses handbags, storing of makeup, and
other small misc. tidbits that are always useful to know.

Dressing
up for less is very brief and could have maybe been combined elsewhere,
just showing some more simple clothes instructions, such as how to wear
spaghetti straps. Fast fixes is more like the spa savings, with some
advice I've seen before, and others that are surprisingly new and
intriguing. I grinned at the advice on no time to touch up roots, then
apply sidewalk chalk. Who knows, maybe work well? Finally,
there are some bargain travel secrets, such as beauty on the road, what
not to bring, etc, etc.

For only 12 US dollars, this
book is a sure pick-up for those into beauty secrets and eager to
advance their look in a cheaper, more stylish way. Honest advice that
sometimes is too common sense and overheard, mixed in with interesting
segments that I'm anxious to try, the book isn't the end-all of beauty
advice by far, but it's a book covering a wide variety of things in a
short, chopped, easy to reference manner.

FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Disclaimer:

Books reviewed or mentioned on this website have either been given to me free in exchange for an honest for review or purchased. My opinions of these books are my own and no monetary or other compensation has been requested, expected or received. Ratings/opinions of books are not influenced by how I acquired them.